Stephen Strange

Above Hogwarts Castle, the Ghost Xiwen and Helena were sunbathing atop the Astronomy Tower.

September 1st is still considered late summer and early autumn; the summer heat lingers and the weather is quite warm.

Two o'clock in the afternoon is when the sun is at its strongest. The sunlight is extremely bright, and a large section of the castle's glass windows are also reflecting dazzling light.

Xiwen and Helena sat together on the stone bricks at the top of the Astronomy Tower, leaning against each other.

Helena's eyes squinted lazily as she stretched out a slender hand to shield her eyes from the sunlight. Though her translucent hand couldn't block out anything...

"How are you? Still not used to the sunlight?" Xiwen extended a similarly transparent palm, gently placing it above Helena's palm, and asked softly.

Only by stacking her two palms could she barely block out some of the sunlight, making Helena a little more comfortable.

A ghost is actually a special form that exudes a cold and eerie aura. When a ghost's body gets close to a warm flame, it can even tint the intensely burning flames with a cold, bluish-white color.

This cold and gloomy form is most afraid of the powerful and intense energy of sunlight.

Helena had lived as a ghost for nearly a thousand years, constantly avoiding sunlight, so even now that her soul was complete, she still felt psychologically uncomfortable with sunlight.

"Actually, it's alright. There's nothing wrong with my body. I'll probably get used to it after a few more sun exposures." Helena felt warm and cozy in the sunlight and leaned lazily against Xiwen, not wanting to move.

Xiwen was happy to enjoy a leisurely and comfortable time, so he closed his eyes comfortably and prepared to take a nap, resting his head on the air.

Just then, a strange aura suddenly swept in from high above, abruptly waking Xiwen!

"What happened there?" Xiwen suddenly opened his eyes and looked towards the distant sky.

The sky there seemed to have shattered in two, with a huge crack appearing in the clouds. The once distant sky seemed to have become a fragile piece of glass, crumbling into pieces.

Xiwen frowned, as if he could hear the ear-piercing "crack" of shattering glass coming from the sky, a sound that was extremely unpleasant.

Beyond the crack lay a vast starry sky, its light tinged with purple, and a familiar aura seemed to emanate from it.

Xiwen withdrew his hand from Helena's face, gracefully stood up, and looked at the huge crack.

Helena felt Xiwen move his hand away, so she opened her eyes.

Then, she stared at the crack in disbelief and exclaimed, "What on earth is going on?"

"I don't know, but I want to go and see," Xiwen said solemnly. "I can sense something familiar there, and I don't want to miss it."

"Wait for me here. If anything goes wrong, bring me back immediately," he said, turning to Helena.

"If we're going, we should go together. What kind of image does it make to go alone?" Helena retorted, dissatisfied. "Don't think I don't know how many dangerous things you've encountered because you acted alone!"

"How about this, I'll open a Dimensional Gate, and you stay here and keep watch for me," Xiwen said after a moment's thought. "If anything goes wrong, I'll immediately return through the Dimensional Gate, and you can close it for me anytime, okay?"

With the help of Ravenclaw's Diadem of Wisdom, and after several months of study, Helena now has a considerable understanding of Kamar-Taj magic. At the very least, she can now close Dimensional Gate.

Helena wasn't entirely satisfied with Xiwen going to observe the crack alone, but she knew the plan was relatively safe, so she nodded in agreement.

"It's a pity Dumbledore isn't at the castle today, otherwise I'd feel more at ease if you took him with you," she said casually.

"Who says otherwise?" Xiwen chuckled softly.

Then, he drew a circle in front of him, creating a golden halo.

Through this halo, the enormous crack can be seen more clearly. Within the crack, stars seem to twinkle, and countless phantoms from different worlds flash by, like a dream.

Xiwen floated forward, passed through the Dimensional Gate, and arrived in front of the enormous rift.

In that gap, he suddenly sensed the aura from the previous world, the aura emanating from a universe he had struggled against for twenty years since childhood, Xiwen was naturally very familiar with!

At the same time, that universe seemed to sense Xiwen's approach. Then, a powerful sense of repulsion slowly pushed in, preventing Xiwen from floating forward even an inch.

"What have I done to deserve such hostility from you, my insignificant soul?" Xiwen said with a bitter smile.

He found it utterly absurd that the universe was still rejecting his soul, even after he had traveled to another world.

It's like a wanderer's hometown is right before their eyes, but the hometown refuses to accept them, instead coldly shutting them out.

You can imagine how Xiwen felt in this situation!

"Are you alright, Stephen?" Helena noticed that Xiwen was in a bad mood and quickly called out. "If you're not feeling well, come back right away. Don't push yourself!"

Hearing Helena's words, Xiwen's emotions gradually calmed down.

"It's alright, I'm fine." He turned to look at Helena and smiled with relief.

'Fortunately, I've found a new home,' Xiwen thought with relief.

Just then, another golden halo suddenly appeared in the crack.

A man dressed in a red Cloak and blue robes floated out from behind the halo. His body was also transparent, just like Xiwen and Helena.

Helena looked at the halo of light that Xiwen had opened in front of her with surprise, then glanced at the identical Dimensional Gate opposite her, and asked doubtfully, "Stephen, is there someone else who can use your Dimensional Gate?"

"Uh..." After seeing the figure floating out from behind another circle of light, Xiwen's expression became somewhat strange, a mixture of surprise, joy, nostalgia, and embarrassment, as he spoke to Helena.

"Is it possible that the person who opened the Dimensional Gate was the mage from the world I came from before...?"

While Xiwen was talking to Helena, the man in the red Cloak and blue robe floated out of the Dimensional Gate.

He looked to be in his early thirties, but his temples were already streaked with gray. His long face had regular features, and he sported a distinctive mustache.

It is worth noting that he wore an oval-shaped metal object on his chest— the Eye of Agamotto!

The man approached, his red Cloak billowing behind him, looking quite dashing.

After arriving at the Dimensional Gate opened by Xiwen, he pointed at Xiwen and asked Helena, "I didn't hear you clearly just now, what name did you call him earlier?"

"Stephen... what's it to you?" Helena said irritably, looking at the stranger's impolite behavior.

"Stephen? You?!" The man looked at Xiwen in astonishment and asked incredulously.

"Ahem..." Xiwen coughed awkwardly and waved to him in greeting.

"Strange, I never expected to see you here!"